THIS IS one VIP list that no one wants to make. When defence lawyers for Italian prime minister Silvio Berlusconi this week named the 78 witnesses they would like to summon for the Rubygate sex scandal trial due to open in Milan next Wednesday, they sprang something of a surprise by including in their list movie star George Clooney and footballer Cristiano Ronaldo.
Before either can be summoned, however, the Milan judges have to decide on their admissibility, based on their relevance to the case. The defence team would like to establish that George Clooney and his Italian girlfriend, Elizabetta Canalis (also named) attended an evening at Mr Berlusconi’s private residence in Arcore, alleged scene of the infamous “Bunga, Bunga” sex parties. The intention would be to establish that parties at Arcore were not orgies but “elegant and sober” occasions.
Clooney however has expressed perplexity at being named as a potential witness, telling US media: “It seems odd since I’ve only met Berlusconi once and that was in an attempt to get aid into Darfur.”
Ronaldo owes his “call-up” to the claim made by the key witness in the trial, 18-year-old Moroccan prostitute Karima “Ruby” El Mahroug, that she had been paid €4,000 to have sex with the footballer. Ronaldo denies he has even met Ms Mahroug.
The defence would seem to wish to undermine the credibility of Ms Mahroug, who remains the key figure in the trial since Mr Berlusconi is accused not only of having had sexual relations with her when she was still under age (last spring when she was 17) but also of having abused his power by intervening on her behalf with police where she was being held on theft charges.
Mr Berlusconi’s defence team has also named four government ministers on its witness list.